Don't get me wrong -- I have no regrets about my Arts choices... indeed, they have provided much joy and insight over the years, as well as the ability to connect with some of the students in my classes who learn in non-conventional ways.
But I am frustrated at all the "connections" I realise I've missed making, in terms of how the world works.
Whereas my literary, music and art memories are in delightful abundance, my science recollections are few: I do remember standing around in the kitchen with some sk8er friends, waiting for wheel bearings - which we had placed in the freezer - to shrink. (Mr Zielke, our grade 8 science teacher, had recently taught us that matter expands with heat and contracts when cold, and we decided to use this important information to see if we couldn't find a way to jam some too-big bearings in to the wheels of one of our sk8boards!!!)
In high school, just prior to dropping science altogether, I had a teacher who used colour to illustrate the similarity of structure between everything from birds to alligators to humans; it was an enlightening moment, to be sure, but I was already too far behind in my general understanding to make a go of it at that point, so I dropped the course and took shop instead (I wanted to make a wooden box for my treasures--long story not relevant to this blog).
As a teacher, I have successfully avoided teaching science for most of my career; either it wasn't part of my package, or when it was, I traded with other teachers (Hey, I'll teach your drama and music if you teach my science) or had my student teachers take on that aspect of the curriculum in my class.
This year, in deciding to take on learning to fly, I made a conscious decision to do something "difficult" for me. And I've not been disappointed -- the science involved for someone without a clue like me has been monumentally taxing!!! :) But the greatest impact for me has been the realization that science dovetails with so many other ways of viewing and understanding the world, and that by avoiding this topic in my younger days, I have missed out on a far richer understanding of things than I might have had.
Although I was somewhat frustrated by Obama's lack of reference to the Arts in his support of teachers and education (in his recent State of the Union address), I whole-heartedly agree with him about the importance of science in the curriculum and the need for strong, competent and enthusiastic science teachers. I can only imagine how different my life might have been, had I had -- in addition to the many powerful literacy and arts teachers I had in grade school -- some outstanding science teachers as well!